Leaving Home
by Raven Dreamcatcher
Summary: Sequel to "Too Real to Be Pretend". H&Hr are together and are about to graduate from Hogwarts, find out about their first steps into the wizarding world as they leave their home for good. H/Hr, R/L
1. Almost Time

Leaving Home 

A/N: Ok, this is a semi-sequel to "Too Real To Be Pretend", because you don't really have to have read "TRTBP" to read this story. This story takes place at the end of their 7th year (therefore there is room for more sequels to "TRTBP"…once I get any ideas). So, reviewing is appreciated, flaming is not. Read my other story please! And review (but don't flame) it too! If you have any suggestions for this story or for future stories, please tell me in your review…or email me (ravendreamcatcher@yahoo.com). Enjoy!

Chapter One 

          "Harry!" Hermione squealed excitedly as she barged into his dormitory. He looked up from his position on the bed, dark hair falling into his eyes. She leapt towards him, plopping down next to him as she waved some parchment in his face with exuberance. 

          "Hermione, I can't read it if you're waving it around," Harry said patiently. Hermione giggled and grinned sheepishly before handing over the papers to him. His eyes widened as he read the parchments. He turned to look at his girlfriend who was beaming with all her might. "You got 'Outstanding' on all your N.E.W.T.s!?" Hermione nodded vigorously. "That's _great_ Hermione!" Harry said, throwing his arms around her. He drew back. "I am _so_ proud of you. I knew you'd do great." If it was even possible, her smile grew wider as she threw her arms around him once again. Harry drew out an envelope from where it had been lost under the covers. "I was just about to open mine." Hermione situated herself alongside him, leaning on him gently. Harry carefully ripped the fold of the envelope and eased the papers from their sheath. He quickly glanced over the pages and handed them over to Hermione, turning his head away. She looked at him with concern before turning her gaze to the parchment on her lap.

          "Ohmigosh, Harry! You made 'Outstanding' on your N.E.W.T.s too!" Harry turned back to her with a silly grin on his face. She punched him lightly on the arm. "You had me so worried, you idiot," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Congratulations!"

          "It was all thanks to your obsessive study habits," Harry said.

          "My obsessive study habits?" she asked, her voice daring him to explain himself.

          "Yeah, I mean, if you hadn't spent all your spare time in the library, I never would've followed you there," he said with another grin. "You know I can't concentrate without a good snog every now and then." Hermione blushed slightly as she swatted him on the arm before moving to sit in front of him. She leaned forward, her arms around his neck once again.

          "So, how should we celebrate?" she asked, smiling coyly.

          "Well, I know what would start the party off with a bang," he replied, returning her coy smile. He closed the distance between them, watching her eyes close slowly as a small smile began to dance onto her full lips. They had barely connected when they heard a gruff voice from the door.

          "Excuse me, but am I interrupting?" 

          "Ron!" Hermione said, backing away from Harry slightly. "How long have you been standing there?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

          "Long enough," he said, buffing his nails on his cloak before studying them intently. "Oi!" he cried as he was buffeted by pillows thrown by the slightly embarrassed couple. 

          "Stupid prat," Hermione said with a grin, still in Harry's grip.

          "Well come on, there's a celebration downstairs. Fred and George came by with a load of new stuff from their shop. Now they're really gonna 'start the party off with a bang'," he said with a mocking smile in Harry's direction. Harry made a face at him, reluctantly letting go of his girlfriend. They stepped from the bed onto the cold floor. Harry took Hermione's hand in his as they made their way to the door. As they passed by Ron, who was still smiling smugly, he sniggered. Hermione stopped and glared at him.

          "Is there a problem here?" she asked. He only sniggered again,

          "Oh, no, I was just wondering, 'how _should_ we celebrate'?" he asked, finishing off the last part in a high pitched imitation of Hermione's voice.

          "Oh, you!" she cried, swatting him. He ducked, laughing, and followed Harry down the stairs.

          The celebration was in full swing as they descended from the boy's dormitories. The twins were eagerly showing off their new products to a bunch of first years. Hermione desperately hoped they weren't those awful nosebleed instigators and resisted the urge to go check out what was going on. Harry's hand was tugging on hers impatiently and she returned her focus to her boyfriend. A feast lay before them, probably Dobby's doing. Harry grabbed a plate from a towering stack and handed another to Hermione. They eagerly scooped food onto their plates and searched the common room for a seat. It was impossibly crowded. Finally, without anywhere else to go, they settled on the stairs and began to shovel the scrumptious meal into their growling stomachs. After their plates had been emptied, they sat back with contented sighs. Their plates disappeared after a few moments, sinking into the carpet. With the obstacles cleared, they scooted closer together. Hermione rested her head on Harry's shoulder as he slipped an arm around her. 

          "Just think, in a month, we'll be out of here," Hermione said with a sad, wistful smile. "I wish we didn't have to leave." 

          "Me too, Hogwarts is my home. At least I won't have to put up with the Dursleys' anymore." 

          "I don't see how you could put up with them for 17 years," she said, patting his arm sympathetically. 

          "I really can't imagine life outside of Hogwarts," Harry said, shaking his head slightly to emphasize his point. "I'm gonna miss everybody so much. And where am I gonna live once school gets out? The Dursleys have officially kicked me out."

          "You can stay with me at my parents' house," Hermione said, gazing up at him to gage his reaction.

          "Really? They wouldn't mind?" Hermione shook her head.

          "You know they love you, Harry! Besides, we don't have to stay there long. Maybe we can get a flat in Diagon Alley or something," she said, blushing slightly. She knew she wanted to stay close to Harry even after their graduation. She hoped he did too.

          "That would be nice," Harry said, smiling at the thought. "Maybe Ron and Lav could stay there with us. A flat would be kind of expensive for just the two of us to handle."

          "That's a great idea! Then we can all be together, just like here," Hermione said with another wistful smile. Harry rubbed her arm in reassurance. 

          "Don't worry too much about it, Hermione. Let's just enjoy our time here while we still can." She nodded and looked down, hugging herself slightly. Harry's arms tightened around her and she looked back up at him. He placed his forehead against hers, his deep green eyes boring into her cinnamon ones. He kissed her lightly on the nose and she smiled slightly. "Don't worry," he repeated, "We'll be fine."

          "I know," she whispered, "but it just feels like we're leaving home." He kissed her lightly.

          "We're gonna make a new one," he replied, "a better one-"

          "Oi! Are you two lovebirds gonna come party or what?" Ron shouted up at them.

          "-With more privacy," Harry finished with a laugh. Hermione laughed with him and hugged him. She felt so safe in his strong embrace and she knew no matter what happened, she was always home with Harry.

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A/N: OK, first chapter! I don't think it was too bad. I got interrupted halfway through it though, so it might be kinda weird…sorry. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed it. Next chapter coming soon…probably their graduation or something. Blahblahblah. Please review! Don't flame! Thanks.


	2. Graduation

Leaving Home 

A/N: 2nd chapter is finally here! Sorry, but I was kinda busy last week…I was painting my bathroom! J Cool, huh? And then it was 4th of July…and then I was slightly moody and depressed about I dunno what…maybe its my lack of love life…that could be it. Hmm…I think I'm destined for the nunnery…great. Anyways, onto this story…this will be my sorry attempt at a graduation and umm…yeah…next chapter will be Harry at Hermione's house…dundundun!…I think…

Chapter Two 

          Hermione nervously checked her appearance in the mirror, straightening her robes for the hundredth time.

          "Hermione, you look fine," Lavender said in exasperation. Her friend was nervously fidgeting with her robes yet again and trying to pat down her hair while checking for zits, which she had already done at least 20 times before. "Nobody is going to be looking that closely at you. Calm down." Hermione nodded slightly, her eyes dazed and staring off at nothing. 

          "What if I mess up my speech, Lav? What if I say something really stupid? I…I can't do this!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands together in anguish. Lavender sighed and padded out of the room silently; Hermione didn't even notice, she was still ranting to herself, throwing her arms up in the air every now in there to emphasize whatever point she was trying to come up with. Lavender returned a moment later with a concerned Harry close behind her.

          "Fix her!" Lavender pleaded. Harry watched bemused as his girlfriend paced around the room, stopping once in a while to run to the mirror and check for zits again. He stood directly in her path as she walked towards him, not even noticing him. He grabbed her arms when she was close enough, but even then she still did not acknowledge his presence, she kept trying to walk, though she was going nowhere. 

          "Hermione!" Harry said, shaking her gently. She snapped out of her reverie and looked at him.

          "When did you get here?" she asked. Lavender rolled her eyes. 

          "A few minutes ago. What are you doing?" 

          "What do you mean?" She obviously had no clue that she had been pacing around the room for the past half hour.

          "Herm, you really need to calm down. Here, come sit with me." Harry led her to her bed and sat down with her. She began to nervously fidget again, playing with the hem of her robes or nervously twiddling her fingers together. Harry placed his hands over hers to stop her inane twitching. She looked up at him, looking like a frightened two year old with her wide brown eyes pleading for an escape from the public humiliation she was sure awaited her in less than 30 minutes. "You're gonna do fine. Why are you so worried?" Lavender slapped her forehead as Hermione regained her panicked look and began to rant once again.

          "What if I mess up? What if I forget my speech? What if a huge zit appears in the middle of my speech? What if-" She was cut off as Harry kissed her squarely on the mouth. He shot Lavender a look that pointedly said: "get the freak out while you can." Hermione was mumbling something incoherent to his lips and he pulled back to hear what it was. "You're not helping Harry! What if I really do forget my speech? What if everyone laughs at me?"

          "Nobody's going to laugh at you. Everybody knows you're the smartest witch here at Hogwarts. Everybody knows all the great things you've done. You're going to do great. I promise." 

          "You promise? Really?" Harry nodded. "So if people laugh at me, I have your permission to hex you into the next millennium?" Harry grimaced slightly.

          "Sure, Hermione. Do what you like," he said, laying back on her bed.

          "Hmm…_anything_ I like?" she asked devilishly as she traced a finger along his strong chest. He grinned at her before pulling her face down to his once again.

          As Harry and Hermione entered the Great Hall, barely on time, they were instantly struck by the sight before them. The four house banners were fluttering proudly behind the array of students. The houses were easily distinguishable from each other as each were all wearing their house colors. Harry and Hermione made their way to the sea of crimson robes and instantly melted into it when they got there. Hermione seemed unusually calm as they made their way towards their seats. She had slipped into her normal "I don't care what you think" mode, and Harry quickly breathed a silent sigh of relief. He kissed her cheek before they separated into their alphabetical arrangement.

          "Good luck," he whispered in her ear before heading down to find his place among his fellow Gryffindors. A few minutes later, the ceremony began. Dumbledore stood and sparks flew from the end of his wand as he gathered the attention of the mass of parents and students that surrounded him. 

          "Welcome all! Welcome," he began, smiling warmly at his audience. "You are all here to bear witness to the graduation of your friends, children, or distant relations…or you are in the wrong place and I advise you to leave." There was hearty chuckling at this among the parents. He continued his spiel for a few more minutes, though it seemed like hours and hours to most of the students, impatient to finally get out of school for good. Finally he called up a very pale looking Hermione who slowly trudged up to the podium. She cleared her throat nervously. (a/n: please excuse the cheesiness and utter crappiness of the following speech).

          "When I first came to Hogwarts, all I wanted to do was prove to everyone that I could do something with my life, be somebody that actually mattered. But when I met my two best friends later that year, I learned that I didn't have to be somebody else, I could be myself. Ever since then, I've stayed true to myself and my goals, and today, I am proud to stand before you as the class valedictorian. We've all been through so much together; through dangerous adventures to taking our O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and even through Blast-ended Skrewts," she shot a warm glance at Hagrid who blushed merrily. "But through it all, we've managed to pull through and grow from our troubles. Hogwarts has been a home away from home for many of us here, but today, we are forced to leave it. But as long as we keep all the memories we have gained here in our hearts, we will never truly be leaving home. Thank you." Hermione smiled and stepped down from the podium, returning to her seat. Harry flashed a smile at her which she returned gratefully. The audience applauded merrily and Dumbledore stood to begin handing out awards and certificates that declared them able to use magic whenever desired. As the ceremony ended, the parents filed out of the room and the students headed towards the Hogwarts Express for one last journey home.

          Harry quickly caught up to Hermione and captured her in his embrace. She squealed as he twirled her around before planting a firm kiss upon her lips. "I told you that you could do it," he whispered to her. She smiled.

          "And I was so looking forward to hexing you, Mr. Potter," she replied in a sultry voice. 

          "No such luck today, love," he replied, dropping her back down to the ground. He took her hand in his as they boarded the scarlet train. They finally found Ron and Lavender, and managed to escape the flood of students trampling down the hallway of the train. They plopped down onto the comfortable seats that they had grown so accustomed to. 

          "Just think, in two weeks, we'll be able to move into our new flat!" Lavender said cheerfully. 

          "Then we'll be taking our next steps into life," Hermione said softly.

          "Oh, you sound like an old greeting card, be happy, Hermione!," Lavender commanded. "We're leaving Hogwarts, but we're going to stay close to all our friends, I hear some other people are getting places to stay in Diagon Alley too! It'll be just like school except no homework."

          "Just real work," Ron interjected. Lavender frowned at him and said, "Not helping!" Hermione smiled a little as the couple began to argue a bit before slobbering over each other once again. 

          "Didn't I mention something about not worrying?" Harry asked as he pulled her into his embrace.

          "I vaguely recall something like that…" she replied. 

          "Well then stop worrying!" he reprimanded. "We're gonna move into Diagon Alley, get great jobs," he peered at Ron and Lavender, "kick them two out," the couple turned to glare at him before returning their attention back to each other, "and start a big happy family." Hermione laughed at that.

          "I don't know…I think I'd like to keep you to myself for a while," she whispered, kissing up his neck. 

          "Hmm, so why do we have 4 bedrooms? We could be saving money here," he replied. She poked him with another hearty laugh.

          "Honestly Harry! You males are all just pigs." This earned an enraged squawk from Ron. Harry pretended to pout and Hermione kissed him softly. "But you're a very cute pig, Harry." He grinned, cupping her cheek in his hand before kissing her thoroughly. Her nerves calmed slightly as she melted into Harry's arms. _This could be fun,_ she thought to herself. _Nobody to tell us what to do, a flat with no chaperones,_ she grinned slightly at that, _and Harry all to myself…well except for Ron and Lavender…_She smiled as their kiss continued on, maybe leaving Hogwarts wasn't a bad thing after all.

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A/N: Yes, yes I know…it sucked. *cries* O well, I'm still feeling a little down because I don't know why, but w/e. Anyways, I hope this chapter was at least mildly entertaining for you, sorry if it wasn't…if you were mentally scarred from it, I'm even sorrier. Anyways, review, don't flame, I'll just slip lower into my wallowing. Be back later.


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